Mounting for sliding doors



Oct. 30, 1951 A. E. wHlTTlT MOUNTING VFOR SLIDING DooRs 2 sHEETs-smE'r 1 Filed Feb. 17. 1947 muuuy.. l.

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wmv @wu 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 A. E. wHrrTnf MOUNTING FOR SLIDING DOORS Filed Feb. 17V, 1947 Patented Oct. 30, 1951 3o1aims. (01.20-23) This invention relates to mountings for sliding doors and has for an object to provide a construction which will enable the door to lie within the doorway opening when in the closed position, with at least one face of the door ush with the doorway frame. Such an arrangement is particularly desirable for the door of a motor vehicle in order tofgive a neat appearance on the outside of the body.

According to this invention, a mounting for a sliding door comprises a guid' track extending across the width of and beyond at least one upright margin of the doorway opening, and to one side of the plane of the opening, a number of bracket arms each pivoted at one end, about an upright axis to the door and at the other, about an upright axis to a member guided along said guide track, thetwo pivot axes for each bracket arm being laterally displaced from each other, so that said door is capable of swinging bodily in a direction transverse to the plane of the opening and can also move in a direction along the length of the track. It will be appreciated with this arrangement that the door in eifect is mounted on a parallel linkwork.

A guide track, a guided member and associated bracket arms may be employed for the top and/or bottom of the door. 'I'he aforesaid bracket arms may be so connected between the door and guided members that they are inclined in relation to the plane of the door, in such manner that an application of a force to the door in a direction to close it, also tends to swing it transversely into the plane of the opening, while a force applied to the door to open it, tends to swing it out of the plane of the opening. In order to enhance this action, a check device may be adapted to engage said guided member, or part attached thereto when the door is reaching the closed position, whereby continued movement of the door across the opening swings it in a positive manner into the opening. Y y

At least the upright edges of the door and the doorway frame may be chamfered so as to fit one another when the door is in a closed position, and so vas to facilitate the movement ofthe door into and out of the plane of the opening.

The upper part of the door may be underslung from the guided members in the track while the lower part of the door is arranged to` overlap the guide track.

i Each guide track may be provided with a single guided member movable along it to which said bracket arms are pivoted.

'Ihe guide track may be of the kind comprising a channel memberarranged with its web portion upright, and the side flanges of which are provided with a number of balls or rollers spaced apart along the length thereof, and a barlike guided member arranged within the chan- 2,573,236 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE:

Y K lMOUNTINGYFOR SLIDING DOORS Alfred Ernest Whittt, Heston, Middlesex, England, assgnor to James Whitson & Company Limited, West Drayton, Middlesex, England Application February 17, 1947, Serial No. 729,015

In Great Britain February 14, 1946 nel with its side edges in engagement with said balls or rollers.V

A catch is preferablyprovided for retaining the door in at least the closed position.

The following is a description of one embodiment of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an inside elevation of the door of a motor vehicle, and the mounting associated therewith, showing thedoor in a closed, or nearly closed, position, and y Figure 2 is a sectional plan on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Mounted on the inside of the motor body I0 is a channel-section guide track II arranged with its web portions in an upright position, and having a number of rotatable bearing units I2, such as small balls or rollers, spaced apart along its side flanges. A guided member I3 in the form of a bar is arranged within the track with its side edges engaging said balls or rollers. The guide track is arranged above the doorway opening I4. The upper end of the door is underslung from said guided bar I3 by two bracket arms I5, each of which is pivoted at one end about an upright axis between upstanding lugs I6 on a plate I'I secured to the door and pivoted about an upright axis at the other end to a pin I8 secured to the end of the bar I3. For this latter purpose, each end of the bar I3 has secured to it a block I9 drilled to receive the end of the pin, which pin is provided with a shoulder 20 which engages one side of the block and is threaded at its extremity to receive a clamping nut 2|. 'Ihe other end of the pin is reduced in diameter and engages a pivotal bearing at the end of the bracket arm I5. Another guide track Il is arranged to extend across the bottom of the doorway opening. and in this instance the door is arranged to extend downwardly past the track. Again, in this instance, the bottom part of the door is connected to the guided bar I3 by two bracket arms 22, one on either side of the door, each of which bracket arms is pivotally connected about an upright axis at one end between lugs 23 formed on a plate 24 fixed to the door, and the other end of the bracket arm 22 is forked at 25 and straddles a boss 26 on a block 21 fixed to said bar I3. A hinge-pin 28 is arranged to extend through the forked arms l25 and the boss '26. The weight of the door is mostly supported by the block 21 and the lower guide track II. The various pivot axes are so arranged and the lengths of bracket arms selected that when the door is in the open position, as indicated in the chain lines shown in Figure 2, the bracket arms I5 are so inclined that movement of the door towards a closed positiontends to swing the door towards the planeV of the door opening. It will be appreciated, therefore, that 

